WWE NXT TakeOver Philadelphia: Highlights, Grades, and Analysis

Credit: WWE NXT on Twitter

Aleister Black vs. Adam Cole Extreme Rules Match

Result: Black Wins With The Black Mass

Rating: 4.5 Out Of 5.0 Stars

Adam Cole and Aleister Black have a LOT of beef. Black was the one who eliminated Cole from a tournament to decide the members of a Fatal Four-Way match on NXT TV that would decide the No. 1 contender to Andrade “Cien” Almas’s NXT Championship.

Johnny Gargano ended up winning that Fatal Four-Way, in part because the Undisputed Era intervened. A jealous Cole rushed the ring and pulled Black off of Lars Sullivan. Black had Sullivan beat with the “Black Mass”, but the Undisputed Era had different ideas, thus setting up what should be a bloody Extreme Rules match that could steal the show. Most people expect Kyle O’Reilly and Bobby Fish, who retained the tag titles, to interfere.

The match is barely under way, and Adam Cole brings out a chair. But Aleister Black just sits there serenely, daring Cole to make his move. Black gets the chair away from him, and he uses the chair as a seat, staring down Cole, who is outside the ring and has a look of fear in his eyes.

Black is using his own body as a weapon instead of chairs or trash cans, while Cole is doing whatever he can to get an advantage.

Later, both Black and Cole are staring each other down with kendo sticks. Black throws it away, showing that he thinks he can do it without weapons. Instead, he gets a little greedy, going for a moonsault and pays for it dearly with a kendo stick hit that turns the momentum in Cole’s favor.

The crowd chants for tables, and Cole listens to the WWE Universe. He tries to superplex Black onto the tables on the outside, but he gets thrown into a trash can for his efforts. Meanwhile, Black decides to bring out a second table.

And then he brings out a ladder….interesting. Cole decides to dropkick the ladder right at Black.

The two trade suplex attempts  by the ladder that is set up along the turbuckles, but neither succeeds before Cole hits Black with a step up enizguiri. Black drops Cole onto the ladder from an electric chair position, and the crowd is in awe.

Black sets up a chair and puts Cole’s head right through it, however, Cole counters. The two start having a nice sequence of moves, and Cole superkicks Black to the outside through both tables. He basically free-fell from the top ropes. Black gets back into the ring, but he kicks out after Cole attempts to pin him.

Cole sets up both chairs in the middle of the ring, attempting to slam Black into the sharp end of both chairs. Instead, Black sends him back-first onto the chairs, in yet another absolutely brutal spot. Black then drove the chair into his face. But the rest of Undisputed Era saved Cole from being pinned.

Fish and O’Reilly drag Black outside the ring and set his limp body up on the tables. But Sanity comes in to make the save! Killian Dain hits everyone with a suicide dive!

In the end, Black wins with a very satisfying Black Mass, taking advantage of Cole making a critical mistake near the end.

These two are the future of this company. There was so much brilliant psychology in this match, so much suspense, so much crowd investment, and so many brutal spots.